Aum ShinrikyM and Religious Terrorism in Japanese Collective Memory. [Hardcover]

This is the first comprehensive study of the competing memories of Aum Shinrikyo's religious terrorism. Interrogating an array of primary sources including original interviews with victims and ex-members, this book reveals how clashing representations of the 'Aum Affair' have hindered social repair and reconciliation.
Aum ShinrikyM's sarin attack on the Tokyo subway in March 1995 left an indelible mark on Japanese society. This is the first book to offer a comprehensive study of the competing memories of Aum ShinrikyM's religious terrorism. Developing a sociological framework for how uneven distributions of power and resources shape commemorative processes, this book explores how the Aum Affair developed as a 'cultural trauma' in Japanese collective memory following the Tokyo attack. Interrogating an array of sources including mass media reports and interviews with victims and ex-members, it reveals the multiple clashing narratives over the causes of Aum's violence, the efficacy of 'brainwashing' and 'mind control', and whether capital punishment is justified. It shows that although cultural trauma construction requires the use of moral binaries such as 'good vs. evil', 'pure vs. impure', and 'sacred vs. profane', the entrenchment of such binary codes in commemorative processes can ultimately hinder social repair and reconciliation. Drawing on a remarkably wide range of evidence, Ushiyama sets out a definitive account of a famous modern Japanese tragedy. The book exposes many fundamental aspects of Japan at the present time, while being much more than simply a study of that country alone. It draws out multiple implications for wider sociological analyses of culture, collective memory and trauma, belief, and religion. -- David Inglis, Professor of Sociology, University of Helsinki

The 1995 Tokyo subway attack by the Japanese religious group Aum Shinrikyo was a seismic event that triggered debates about the nature of Japanese society and culture. Rin UshiyalÃ.